I found this article through my alma mater, the University of Washington, about researchers from UW that developed a virtual reality program to distract burn victims from their pain. It is called SnowWorld and has mainly been used by troops burned in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The version of the program in the military hospital uses high-tech goggles that have a wide field of vision. SnowWorld helps patients who wear the goggles block the unpleasant view of their wounds and charred skin, allowing them to navigate an icy canyon instead.

In it, users can push a button and throw a snowball at a giant penguin or a mammoth, which trumpets angrily in response.

(For Veterans with Burns, A Virtual Reality Aid)

It has gotten good response from patients and has made life better for them, their families, and nurses. I can’t imagine the pain these people feel already, many of them with over 80% of their body burned.

The article also mentioned possibly using the same technology to treat those with post-traumatic stress disorder. I’d be interested to see what they come up with. Actually, I’m interested in what this program looks like and what other features it has.

Pineapple Coconut Chicken Curry is one of my new favorite dishes, and I made it sans recipe! That’s impressive because I’ve also never made curry before. So it’s not authentic of anything fancy shmancy, but it has flavor. I can’t wait to experiment with more curries.

Keep in mind that since I didn’t follow a recipe or write down exactly what I did, this may come out slightly differently. So don’t blame me, you were warned. For the record I have made it twice now and it was delicious both times.

See? Not too hard. Feel free to tweak the heck out of it, and let me know what changes you make or could suggest. I want to make this a perfect, easy, go-to recipe.

To make this a more frugal recipe, buy coconut milk and curry powder at an Asian grocery. Asian products are really overpriced in most grocery stores.

Go, go, go!

This week I learned how to play Super Mario Wii! Not very impressive, but it was fun nonetheless.

I was at my brother’s house New Years’ Eve and we played it for hours. I have to admit it is one of the most fun games. I really do like the great multi-player games the Wii has put out.

What else did I learn?

1. The Seattle Metro prices went up by 25 cents. Now it costs $4.25 to ride the bus there and back from work. A bus that is always late. And smells. And is cold and loud. As you can see, not complaining isn’t my New Year’s Resolution.

2. Dreyer’s Peppermint ice cream is delicious. Especially with dark chocolate sauce. Just don’t look at the ingredients and you’ll be fine.

3. Making a menu plan isn’t that effective for me, but I’ll keep trying.

4. How to sear scallops. Actually, how to sear anything. Apparently whatever it is has to be completely dry. You would think I could figure that out…it’s one of those really silly facts I’ve overlooked.

5. Putting plastic wrap in the freezer makes it easier to handle. Thus far it seems to be true, cool no?

To see what others learned this week, visit Musings of a Housewife!

Photo by goodrob13.